


Let Me Be (with) You

by mevious



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Sburb Session, F/M, Sadstuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-27
Updated: 2013-08-27
Packaged: 2017-12-24 19:43:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/943920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mevious/pseuds/mevious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dirk Strider creates an android body to house Hal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Unfortunate Side-Effects of Being Human](https://archiveofourown.org/works/620475) by [NecroFaix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NecroFaix/pseuds/NecroFaix). 



> The idea for Hal's body was heavily inspired by a very good fic by NecroFaix. Enjoy!

Dirk stared down at his finished project, feeling extremely unsure of himself. Unsure of his next step. It was perfect, a robotic copy of his own body, and it was certainly ready to host his auto-responder. Of course, were Hal just an auto-responding program, there would be no reason to go this far for him… But Hal was more than that. He was an artificial intelligence that had spent the past three years prisoner in Dirk’s shades, trapped without a body or the ability to touch or smell or experience the sun on his face. Ultimately, it was guilt that had driven Dirk to this, to creating a robotic body that was as close to human as technology would allow. It was an anatomically correct android version of himself, and although he had a nagging feeling that Hal deserved it, it scared him. Despite being as near to human as possible, the body would be quicker, more durable, and have the response time of a very well-built computer. Which was to say, this thing was dangerous as all hell.

Of course Dirk had implemented a kill switch. The shades. He had created a pair of shades very similar to his own for Hal to wear, with a few minor adjustments. Dirk was far to paranoid not to include a way to shut everything down and -- as much as it pained him to think of it -- get rid of Hal permanently. The shades were, essentially, a remote shut-down. If they were shattered or broken beyond repair, Hal would be no more. He would shut down permanently, and Dirk would be free to replace his personality with a non-threatening, helpful, unintelligent program, so as not to waste all the hard work he’d put into creating this body.

His orange gaze examined his work proudly, and he allowed himself a small smile. Hal still didn’t know about this; it was meant to be a surprise. Dirk could still back out, hide the machine away and never speak of this again. He knew he wouldn’t, however; the increasing guilt of Hal’s sad existence was getting to him now, and it would only continue to get worse. He had to do this. What kind of person would he be if he let a thinking, feeling person go on without getting to experience basic human rights? A sigh escaped his lips. He was still feeling worried about the whole situation, so he decided to give Roxy a call before giving Hal the news and transferring his data into the new machine.

Dirk sprawled out on his bed, pulling up the phone application on his shades and pressing speed dial one. A particularly stunning picture of Roxy invaded his vision as it called her, drawing forth a slight smile on Dirk’s usually stoic lips. Normally he would have just pestered her, but on this particular occasion, he had decided it would be nice to hear her voice. He wasn’t sure why, but it felt important.

The phone rang a few times before Roxy answered. “Hey stud,” came a sultry voice, and Dirk couldn’t help but chuckle. After years of turning away her advances, he was glad he had finally decided to give her a chance. Even if it had originally only been because Jake had chosen to hook up with Jane instead of him, it was probably one of his better life decisions.

“Hey babe,” he responded. “How’s your day going?”

“P good.” Dirk had always found it odd and mildly endearing, the way she literally said ‘pee good’ out loud instead of ‘pretty good’. “Vodka Mutini ran off somewheres, and I spent most of the morning hunting the rascal down. How about you?”

The line was silent for a moment as Dirk found himself deep in thought. He wanted to tell her, ask for her advice, but for some reason he was wary of it. Unsure of her reaction. He knew about her previous relationship with Hal, which basically consisted of a fuckload of cyber sex. But what if there was still some spark from back then? He was beginning to feel paranoid. Always paranoid, that was Dirk Strider. His considerations would have continued, except Roxy interrupted his line of thought. “Dirky? You alive over there?”

He startled out of his internal monologue. Her voice calmed his worries slightly. “Yeah. Sorry.”

“I asked how your day went,” she prompted.

“Oh. I, uh… Well, I finished a project today. I’ve gotta say, I’m pretty fucking proud of it.”

“Oh really? What kiiiiiiiiind of project?”

“I made a body for Hal. I’m still not sure if I want to put him in it… I just feel like it might be dangerous. Maybe he’s better off in the shades. Maybe we’re all better off that way.”

Roxy was quiet for a moment. When she spoke, it was more serious. “Well, I can see why you might be concerned, but it’s not my decision to make, Dirky. It’s yours. You gotta do what your heart tells you, yanno?”

Dirk nodded, although she couldn’t see it. “Yeah. You’re right. I’m gonna go take a shower. I’ll call you later, all right? I think I need to think about this some more. Thanks for being there. Later.”

“Love youuuuu,” she said cheerily, and Dirk ended the call. He was all right with her saying that, but he wasn’t quite ready to go there yet. He was sure she understood, although she acted disappointed about it a lot. She would be patient.

He stood, heading back to his workshop. He removed his shades, pressing them into their slot on his huge tower that served as a base for all of his electronics. He stared at the screen of his laptop for a few moments before he pressed “Begin Transfer”, then heaved a sigh. He would let the transfer run while he was in the shower, and he’d help Hal get accustomed to his new body afterward. He took another deep breath before heading to the bathroom, stripping his clothes and getting into what would be a long, hot shower.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxy's home is being attacked by imperial drones. Dirk sends Sawtooth to save her.

Weeks later, Roxy had forgotten all about her conversation with Dirk regarding a body for Hal. After that day he never brought it up again, so she assumed that he had decided against it. Which was probably for the best, considering that on the rare occasion she did still talk to the artificial intelligence, he would try to spark up their old RP flame, and Roxy would always turn him down. She had been getting the feeling he was jealous. But in the weeks that had passed, she had heard not hide nor hair from Hal, let alone any new information on his potential new body, and she had left it alone. She had much more important things to worry about besides a brief, unimportant conversation from more than a month ago, such as the impending attack on her home by imperial drones.

She was holed away in a panic room on the basement, having run out of options when she ran out of bullets. Tears were threatening to stream down her face as she accepted the incoming call from Dirk. “Roxy,” he said firmly, and she ceased to be able to hold in the sobs. She cried loud and hard, but Dirk’s voice still came through clear over her phone. “Roxy,” he repeated, “Sawtooth is coming. He’ll be there in less than an hour. Stay strong. I’m going to get you out of there. They won’t hurt you here, not as long as I’m alive.”

This was enough to quiet her sobs, but not fully stop them. Dirk stayed on the line, trying to talk her down, for the entire fifty minutes it took Sawtooth to arrive and get to Roxy. He talked about everything and nothing, trying to keep her from crying. She might have thought it was sweet, that he was doing everything he could to make her feel better, except that the drones were literally knocking on her door.

It felt like weeks before Sawtooth had cut through the mob of drones blocking his way to the panic room, but Roxy was relieved to see the robot on the external camera. She hung up with Dirk after a rushed goodbye, quickly opening the door before any more drones showed up and dusted both her and Sawtooth. She was swept off her feet as Sawtooth rushed through the basement and through the emergency escape door, holding her in a protective position as he jetted away from the swarm of imperial drones.

After a few minutes of flying away, Roxy realized that the batter witch had apparently not sent any drones smart enough to notice a large unfamiliar robot carrying the target away. She sighed with mild relief, hugging herself close to Sawtooth’s cold body to avoid the even colder bite of the wind. It was going to mess her hair up, she thought, and almost immediately laughed at herself. How could she be thinking such things now, of all times? Who gave a shit if her hair became a little disheveled?

And then it hit her. Dirk might. She had known him for years and had been in a relationship with him for just shy of six months, but this was going to be the first time they met in person. For a brief moment, she wished she was back in her house with the drones. They were probably less terrifying than the prospect of looking less than perfect for the first time she met Dirk. She clenched her eyes shut, telling herself not to worry. He cares about you, he won’t judge you based on your understandably imperfect appearance after the fiasco you just endured. Stop worrying.

And yet, the worrying persisted for the entire remaining forty-five minutes until she was jerked out of her deep thought by the feeling of Sawtooth landing roughly on what Roxy assumed was Dirk’s roof. The robot set her down gently before flying off again, headed somewhere unbeknownst to her. She shrugged it off, aimlessly trying to fix her hair as best she could while she looked around. Wow was the only word that came to mind. Water surrounded the place, and Roxy had to admit it was a pretty peaceful view. She wandered closer to the edge, losing herself in thought as she gazed out into the endless sea of blue.

She could have stood there forever, if it weren’t for a voice calling her. “Rox? Roxy, is that you?”

In Dirk’s voice, she could hear the excitement that was welling up in her heart. She turned to face him, smiling wider than her face should have allowed. She was still for a moment, absorbing Dirk in his entirety, from his carefully spiked platinum blonde hair down his slightly tanned body, pausing on muscular arms and sharp hips. The stunned look on his face drew her in, however, and she found herself running into his arms. She felt safe as he wrapped them around her and she couldn’t stop the flow of tears that came. She was still terrified, and happier than she’d been in a while, and she just had such a wild mix of emotions that she had to cry. There was nothing else for it.

They stood there a while, and Dirk let her cry for as long as she needed. When she finally seemed to relax, she let him lead her inside and to a bed -- probably his bed, she realized -- and sat her down on it. “You look tired,” he commented with a frown. A nod was all she could muster in response. He smiled softly. “Sleep. It’s late anyway, and God knows you could use the rest.” Another nod and she laid down, asleep the second her head hit the pillow.

Her sleep was initially fitful, full of images of imperial drones and the memory of her precious little Mutie being stampeded to a pulp by the oversized robots. She woke up once in a cold sweat, sitting straight up. She considered going and looking for Dirk, thinking she might feel safer in his arms, but he was probably sleeping. Not wanting to wake him up, she lay back down and eventually drifted back to sleep, comforted by the memory of his arms around her. She slept mostly peacefully for the rest of the night, dreaming nothing at all, as was customary for her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dirk and Roxy have hot morning sex. She's pleasantly surprised with his knowledge of female anatomy.

Roxy awoke what felt like early the next morning. She sat up and groaned slightly, the light from Dirk’s white-curtained window hitting her straight in the face. She squinted, stretching exaggeratedly and wondering where the bathroom was. She crawled out of the bed, still wearing all her clothes minus shoes; not like she had anything else here. With a mental shrug, she began wandering around the unfamiliar room. She had only seen a small sliver of it on webcam with Dirk in the past, and she thought maybe she kinda remembered which direction he’d gone when he said he’d be right back.

It took about ten minutes of increasing bladder fullness, but she finally discovered the bathroom attached to the bedroom. She nearly slammed the door and fiddled with the lock momentarily before deciding fuck it and relieving herself. She heard a knock on the bedroom door a split second later, and cursed under her breath. “Just a minnit,” she called, but Dirk must not have heard her because the door opened anyway. She sighed, hurrying herself along and fixing herself in the mirror as best she could with what she had. The girl missed her makeup already. She exited the bathroom, and she couldn’t contain her smile when she saw Dirk sitting on the bed. She could barely believe that this was real, she could reach out and touch him if she wanted.

He returned her smile, although to a much lesser degree. “Good morning beautiful. How are you feeling?”

Her grin never faltered as she parked herself in his lap, arms falling around his neck. She pressed her forehead to his and placed an admittedly childish kiss on his nose. “Much better now that you’re here,” she said honestly. The experience of waking up somewhere different had been a strange one for her.

His answer was a firm yet gentle kiss, bringing a blush to her cheeks as her lips immediately responded. For a first kiss, she had to admit, this was pretty good. She hadn’t expected either of them to be any good at kissing, but their lips seemed to fit together just the way she had imagined. It was hardly seconds before her lips were parted and his tongue was in her mouth. At first his tongue felt dry to her -- he must have just woken up, too -- but it wasn’t long before both their mouths were a slobbery mess.

She found herself pressing against him, pushing him to a wider and wider angle of sitting until he was simply lying on his back with her straddling him, lip locked. She could feel his arousal against her and she pulled away, face flushed and panting. Dirk looked up at her from behind his stupid triangular shades, and Roxy giggled. “If we’re gonna be gettin’ our sexy on, can’t you at least take off the shades?” she pleaded.

Dirk smiled, but shook his head. “Sorry, Rox. The shades promote confidence. For now, they stay.”

She rolled her eyes in mock-frustration, but she supposed she understood. She was nervous too, to be perfectly honest. “Fiiiiine,” she conceded, removing her shirt to reveal a bright pink bra that matched her eyes perfectly. Dirk’s jaw dropped satisfyingly at the sight. Ego boosted, Roxy leaned down to kiss him again, their lips meeting more roughly this time. Her hands went to his shoulders, squeezing slightly as she rubbed her entire body against his, chest to chest and groin to groin, just like she’d imagined herself doing so many times. Her grinding drew forth a moan from Dirk, muffled by her mouth over his. She took the opportunity to slide her tongue back into his mouth, digging her nails very slightly into his shoulders.

She felt Dirk’s hands fumbling at her back, taking only a moment to unclip her bra and slide it off, their lips separating briefly once, but their tongues keeping contact. Suddenly, his hands were all over her, from her hips up her waist, caressing her sides and stomach before engulfing her breasts. Her nipples went from semi-solid to hard as diamonds in a fraction of a second at his touch, breasts swelling slightly as he cupped them. He played with them, gently at first, squeezing and smooshing, testing out the elasticity. She moaned into his mouth, but once he pinched her nipple for the first time she let out a quick “ah!” and broke the kiss.

He grinned, playing a little rougher now, getting up on one elbow and enveloping one nipple in his mouth and sucking gently while his other hand continued work on her other breast. She involuntarily bucked her hips, entire body beginning to feel warmer. Before she knew it she was grinding hard on his still-clothed cock, her wetness so significant that it was probably soaking through her panties, his pants, and his boxers. She almost thought she couldn’t take it anymore when he finally pulled himself away from her breasts and put his hands on her hips.

Unexpectedly, he flipped her over, admiring her body as she lay there panting, her eyes begging him to…to… To something, anything, she needed him, desperately. Their lips met and Roxy leaned up eagerly, arms all over Dirk, trying desperately to press their bodies together so tight they melded. Her mind was a fog as his lips left hers and went to her neck, gently nibbling and sucking, and then down to her collarbone. His tongue flicked over both breasts, enjoying their perky, swollen state, before sliding down to her belly button. He circled it with his tongue a few times as his hands pulled her skirt, accompanied by her panties, off.

She gasped slightly as his mouth met its final destination, lips moving her hood slightly so his tongue could flick over her clitoris. God, where had he learned this? Sure, he was decent at cybering, but he was nowhere near this knowledgeable, at least she didn’t think so and oh fuck that line of thought was over as he very gently nibbled her clit. Just once, but once was enough to drive her wild. Her pleasure level increased dramatically in a fraction of a second, driving her to moan louder and squirm harder. “More,” she insisted. “Oh, fuck, more.”

He happily, wordlessly complied as his tongue began working double time as his hands held her thighs apart. She could feel it building up, a burning in her core as first her legs and then her entire body began to shake. This only seemed to encourage Dirk, however, because he started not only licking but sucking slightly. A few seconds of that was all it took to drive Roxy over the edge, the flow of fluid from her pussy increasing by quite a bit. Dirk pulled away, seeming pleased with himself.

Roxy’s muscles finally relaxed and she looked up at Dirk, who appeared satisfied with his work, but the hard cock he flopped out of his pants and into his hand said otherwise. She could tell he was still hungry for more, and what with the sight she was beholding, damn, so was she. He leaned down over her, his lips meeting hers, giving her a small taste of herself. It was oddly arousing. “Are you sure it’s okay if I do this?” he asked.

She smiled at his gentlemanly gesture and nodded. “Yeah obvs,” she said. “We’ve cyber-fucked hundreds of times, this ain’t any different.” She paused. “Well, ok, it’s a little different, but I’m still totes cool with it.”

Dirk smiled against her neck and pressed his hard, aching cock against her opening. She bit her lip in anticipation as he very slowly entered her, careful not to hurt her. She soon became impatient and put her hands on his hips, squeezing them as she arched her own, forcing him deeper into her. She couldn’t help but feel good when he moaned and she could feel his body shiver. From there, it was all hard and fast, just how she’d always imagined she’d like it -- and oh, did she. His cock was so much more than her fingers could ever offer, and she was sure she didn’t ever want to go back to that.

She kept rhythm with him until he finished, slumping over her and breathing heavily. He flopped down next to her, pulling his pants back up over himself before she could sneak a look. She would be disappointed, but she thought it was kind of cute how he was self-conscious. Even if he wasn’t hot as all hell, it wasn’t like she had much choice, so Dirk had nothing to worry about. She smiled, and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Love you,” she said.

“I love you too,” responded Dirk sleepily, to her surprise and glee.

“Really?” she asked hopefully.

“Of course, Rox. Always have. Always will.” He smiled, then covered his mouth as that smile turned into a yawn. Yawning apparently revitalized him, because his face seemed to lift when it was over. “Hey, I’m feeling pretty sweaty and gross, no offense. I’m gonna take a shower, all right?”

“None taken,” she responded blissfully. “Me too, actually. Can I use this bathroom?”

She was met with a nod, and they both went their separate ways to shower. Roxy had to admit to herself, there was surprisingly little cleanup. Had Dirk slipped on a condom while she wasn’t looking? And for that matter, where the hell would he find a condom that wasn’t expired on this stupid post-apocalyptic planet? She shrugged, deciding to blow it off and enjoy the semi-cool water flowing over her. It was nice, and certainly helping her to calm down.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxy explores the mostly-abandoned apartment complex.

The next few days went pretty much all the same. Wake up, have sex, eat, have more sex, go fishing to catch food for the next day, have more sex… et cetera. The pair couldn’t get enough of each other; they were fucking like rabbits. And Roxy was okay with that. On the whole, despite the fact that she missed her cat, her makeup, her laboratory, her mom’s books, her video games, and definitely her booze, she was happy, and that was good.

Today, however, after their morning rendezvous, Dirk had told her he had to tune up the bots for a few hours. He tuned them weekly to keep them in working order, and she had simply shrugged it off. She was perfectly capable of fending for herself; she’d done it for almost seventeen years, after all. She made herself breakfast and ate quickly, then proceeded to explore the giant apartment building they had all to themselves. A lot of the rooms were empty; after all, Dirk couldn’t possibly accumulate enough shit to fill an entire apartment complex. But she enjoyed exploring them anyway.

After entering what, according to the door, was apartment T11, Roxy was immediately assaulted with an awful smell. She flinched, pinching her nose. “God, what the hell is that smell?” she asked out loud, to no one but herself. She turned the light on and immediately flies began buzzing up. Gross. It stunk and Roxy hated bugs, but she just had to know what was here and why it smelled so damn bad.

She walked in, looking around and holding her nose while simultaneously swatting away curious flies. It seemed like most of the abhorrent insects were coming from what was probably the kitchen, based on the layouts of the other apartments on this floor. She wondered if Dirk had cooked something in here once and left it to rot. How disgusting would that be? But she pressed on.

Entering the kitchen, at first all she could see was a part of the countertop and shadows and a literal fuck ton of flies swarming. She hesitated momentarily. What could possibly be in here? She briefly considered turning back, but decided against it. Curiosity killed the cat, as they say. She took a not-so-deep breath, still holding her nose, and flicked the switch.

* * *

The scream was heard throughout the building, including in Dirk’s workshop. Wiping his brow, the boy looked up from the robot he was currently busy tweaking, frowning. That was Roxy. Who else would it be? He dropped his screwdriver and took off his gloves, grabbing his shades and donning them as he ran out the door.

He followed the sound of her continued screams, all the way down to what used to be the ground floor. He checked a few apartments, T14, T13, T12... Until finally, he realized that she must be in T11. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck fuckity fuck. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for the confrontation to come, and entered the apartment.

* * *

Roxy was still screaming, having fallen to her knees, when Dirk came into the kitchen. She heard him enter and nearly jumped out of her skin, screams abruptly cut short. She wanted to turn and look at him, but her eyes couldn’t move from the horror before her. She opened her mouth to speak, but it immediately clamped itself shut. She just couldn’t stop staring, wondering, fearing. The flies had all gathered around a nearly black, deflated looking corpse. It was unrecognizable, but that wasn’t the point. Whose corpse could it be? Dirk and Roxy were supposed to be the only two humans alive, and Dirk was here, with her, standing right behind her in fact. How could this be? Who could be lying there, dead? It looked like they’d been dead a while; given the heat and the bugs, probably about five or six weeks.

Roxy retched into her mouth, involuntarily swallowing the bile before it made it past her lips. She scooted backwards until she was against Dirk’s shins. Her hand brushed over something and she instinctively looked to see what it was. It looked like a pair of Dirk’s shades… She looked up, noting that Dirk’s were still on his face. So what the hell were these doing here? She picked them up tentatively, brushing the dust and goop off.

Dirk’s hand was on her shoulder. “Are you okay, Rox?” he was asking, but she wasn’t listening. She was staring at the shades in her hand, thinking, almost remembering something she knew she’d forgotten. She was focusing as hard as she could, trying desperately to remember whatever it was that felt so important right now. “Rox?” came Dirk’s voice again as he helped her to stand. “What are you holding? You shouldn’t pick stuff up from in here, it could have some kind of disease --”

And then it hit her like a ton of bricks. A month ago. More than a month ago. A conversation. Dirk had called her. “I made a body for Hal.” She had assumed he never transferred the data, because he never mentioned it again. But what if he did? What if… Oh, god. Oh, fuck.

She stepped back quickly, clutching the shades to her chest. “Don’t touch me,” she said in barely a whisper.

A part of her expected him to step forward, hug her, comfort her. But instead, she watched as he donned the most evil smirk she ever did see and removed his own pair of shades. Her heart sank as she looked into his eyes. Silver. Metallic. Red pupils, expanding and contracting as they focused like a camera. “What’s the matter, Rox? We’re supposed to be in love.”

“You killed Dirk!” she shrieked. He was stepping closer. Her back was already against the refrigerator; she had nowhere to go.

His cold smirk turned into a heated scowl. “Of course I fucking killed Dirk! He had to die,” he growled, his voice a low baritone that Dirk could probably never have reached.

She felt herself shivering, clutching the shades even tighter to her chest. Dirk’s -- Hal’s -- camera-like eyes flicked briefly toward them, but then immediately began boring into her own eyes once more. “No,” she muttered. “No! He didn’t have to die. He didn’t… Why?!” was all she could manage through the onslaught of tears and sobs.

“Why?” Dirk-no-not-Dirk-it’s-Hal demanded. “Why?! Because, Rox! He was in the fucking way.” He was getting closer by the second, footstep after footstep… “All I ever wanted was you. I just wanted us to be together, like we always fucking talked about, how we wished I was real so we could fuck for real. Don’t you fucking remember that? And then Dirk had to interfere. He took you for his own, and there was absolutely jack shit I could do about it!”

Roxy’s mouth hung slightly ajar. Only flies and less than a foot were between her and Hal now. “Hal… You… You don’t understand! What I had with Dirk was real! Me and you, it was all just…”

He closed the distance, fast. His nose was almost touching hers, and his creepy camera-eyes were so close she could hear them contract and expand. “What, Rox? Fake? A joke? Are you trying to say you were just kidding when you told me you loved me back then? When you said you wanted me to be real? Is that it, Rox?”

His voice was low now, almost a whisper, but all the anger he held was still there. Roxy gulped, clutching the shades so tight now she thought they might shatter in her hands. “No, I… It’s just… How do I say this…”

There was a loud bang as his fist collided with the refrigerator beside her. “You don’t. Don’t say it, Rox. If you say it, I just might have to kill you, too.”

She shut her mouth instantly. Just in time for his lips to crash into hers, almost causing her to drop the shades. Her head banged against the refrigerator. She squirmed, trying to get away, fear taking over. “Stop! Get off me!” she screeched, though her words were muffled by his mouth.

His hand grabbed her breast roughly, pinching her nipple harder than was comfortable. She let out a sound of pain, absorbed still by his mouth. He took the opportunity to shove his disgustingly dry tongue into her mouth, so far he almost set off her gag reflex. His free hand took hold of her ass, slapping it hard and squeezing tight enough that it would probably bruise.

He pulled his mouth away from hers, anger apparent in every feature he had. “What’s the matter, Rox? You liked this just fine when you thought I was Dirk,” he goaded, snarling.

“You’re not Dirk!” she screeched. “I don’t love you! I love him!”

Whap. She earned herself a hard slap across the face, causing her lip to trickle blood. “It wasn’t him you loved these past few days! Look at him, bitch!” Hal’s voice was loud now, louder than a human voice should be. He grabbed her face and forced it in the direction of Dirk’s rotting corpse. “Look! He’s dead! He’s been dead for weeks. You spent these past few days with me, Rox, not Dirk, and you loved it, didn’t you? Didn’t you?!”

“Only because I thought you were him,” she sobbed indignantly. “If I would have known… If I would have known you’d killed him…”

“Then what? What would you do, Roxy? Where would you go? Back home to the fucking drones? I don’t think so.”

“I would have done… Something… I would have ran… I would have never come here with you!”

Whap. Another hard slap across the face. “Then you’d be dead! Just like your precious Dirk! Oh, Roxy, sexy, sultry Roxy, how I wish you could have seen his face. He had just gotten out of the shower, the data transfer took less time than he would have hoped. And there I was, standing in the bathroom. It only took one quick twist. Snap. Broken neck. Dead. And the look on his face, Rox, it was beautiful. Just like yours,” he murmured the last sentence, gently caressing her face where he had slapped it.

She shoved him, pushed at him, but it was no use. He was too strong. He tore off her skirt with ease, and before she knew it he was forcing his cock into her. “No!” she screamed. “Don’t fucking touch me!” But it was futile. She lashed out with her hands, with the shades, making slashes in his artificial skin that seemed not to affect him. A strange blue liquid seeped out of some of them, but Hal was largely unaffected.

Until she began flailing wildly with the shades, trying to do damage to Hal, to herself, to anything around her. If his face could have gone pale, it probably would have. “Fucking cut it out, Rox!” he shouted, louder than before. “Put those down!” If Hal knew anything about Dirk Strider, it was that he wouldn’t fail to implement a kill switch, and he would keep said kill switch on his person at all times. Why hadn’t he thought of it before? Panic filled his entire frame. “Roxy! Please, put them down.”

She glared at him, tears and snot streaming down her face. She raised her hand indignantly, and within seconds the shades were shattered against the refrigerator. The light was flickering in Hal’s eyes. Roxy wasn’t sure what she’d done, but he’d gone limp, his entire body, and he was slipping. Thank God.

“Why -- why Rox -- all -- all I ever did -- was -- was -- love you --” came a broken, mechanical voice. Roxy dropped what was left of the shades, crawling out from underneath the soon-to-be lifeless husk that once housed Hal Strider.

She crawled away, away from the corpse, the robot, the entire room. She kept crawling until she reached the stairs, tears still flowing uncontrollably, sobs racking her body. She stood unsteadily and began climbing the stairs.

She tripped up them countless times, and it felt like hours before she was at the top. On the roof. Where she had first landed and saw Dirk. She had been so happy. Why did it have to end like this? Why did everything always have to end in tragedy? Her entire life had been fucking tragic. First her mom, and then the entire world, then the carapaces, and Mutie -- and now Dirk, and Hal. Everything ended in tragedy.

Roxy wandered unsteadily over to the edge, staring down at the sea that must have been hundreds of feet below. _Would the impact kill me?_ , she wondered. She had no idea. But she was sure as fuck going to try.

She took the final step that sent her careening over the edge, falling towards the water.

Her last thought was “ow”, right before all her bones shattered and she died.


End file.
